One of the trickiest lies in golf occurs when your ball comes to rest against the fringe of the green, leaving you a short but quick downhill putt. The trouble here is behind your ball. The thing that makes this shot such a challenge is judging how much the ball is going to roll. Anytime the grass gets between your ball and your clubface, it's tough to judge how hard to hit it.


Normally, from this position you'd either putt or chip, but in this case neither of those is a viable option because you can't get the clubface cleanly on the ball. The best way to play this shot is to give the ball a gentle tap with the toe of your putter. Turn your putter so the toe faces the hole. Put all your weight on your left side and leave it there as you tap.


You don't need any body action for this shot, so keep everything as still as possible except for your wrists. In fact, your hands hardly move from their address position because you break your wrists only slightly, just enough to move the putter head away from the ball 8 inches or so.


Then all you have to do is uncock your wrists, focusing on making contact with the top half of the ball. In effect, you're topping the ball. This type of stroke puts maximum overspin on the ball so it gets more than the normal roll, which is just what you want for accuracy -- maximum roll with minimum movement.